


Um, David

by DisgruntledPelican



Series: Rose's in Bloom [1]
Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Sibling Relationship, almost angst, minor emergency
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-30
Updated: 2019-06-30
Packaged: 2020-05-31 12:24:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19425940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DisgruntledPelican/pseuds/DisgruntledPelican
Summary: David is woken up in the middle of the night because something is wrong with Alexis. Except, this time is different than all the other times.





	Um, David

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to lucianowriter! Not only did she beta this, but when I asked her how people got the courage to post, she had the perfect response.... "You take a deep breath and dive. The fandom will be there to catch you."
> 
> So this is me diving in with my first fic!

David is sitting in the hospital waiting room, fidgeting with his four gold rings- one on each finger. Tapping his knee, taking deep breaths- in through the nose, out through the mouth- doing everything he can think to do to keep himself from spiraling. Everything his best therapist taught him to do-- all the things Patrick reminds him to do.  _ This isn’t like those other times  _ is the mantra he’s repeating, over and over and over again in his head. With a few -  _ she is with actual doctors - she is not a hostage - I don’t need to bargain for her freedom -  _ thrown in the mix for good measure. David checks his phone, he looks past a candid wedding shot of him and Patrick to see that it is 4:42am. Has it really only been 33 minutes since Ted called him? 

********************

**Ted: Um, David.**

**David: Ted, what’s going on? What’s wrong?**

**Ted: I’m not sure.**

**David: I’m going to need more information than that, its fuck’o’clock in the morning and you’ve called me thrice.**

**Ted: It’s just that if an animal did that, I’d know exactly what to do.**

**David: If a who did what?**

**Ted: If an animal came out of the bathroom crying and then fell over in pain, I would know what to do. But an animal didn’t do that. Alexis did. And so I didn’t know what to do.**

**David handed (maybe threw, definitely threw) the phone to Patrick. He didn’t have the mental capacity at the moment to deal with Ted’s analogies and monitor his own heart rate- which was picking up speed much too quickly if he wanted to live to see Patrick grow old and wrinkly.**

**Patrick: Ted? Ted? What’s going on? Where are you?**

**Ted: Elmdale Hospital.**

**Patrick: On our way.**

********************

So now, at 5:15 am, David is sitting with Patrick and Ted at Elmdale Hospital. Waiting for test results to figure out what’s wrong with Alexis. They’re surrounded by 70s wallpaper, peeling at every corner; sitting on chairs that lost their spunk before The Golden Girls premiered; and David didn’t even want to be able to accurately identify the smell of this place.

The Rose matriarch and patriarch were due to arrive at any moment. If David’s truth telling, he didn’t know what to expect from them. Sure, they eventually found out about a handful of Alexis’ “adventures” – as she likes to call them. But they weren’t aware of the dangers she was in, while she was in them.

********************

**Alexis: Um, David.**

**David: Where are you?**

**Alexis: Are you not even going to say hi?**

**David: Is there time for that?**

**Alexis: Belize.**

**David: I’ll make some calls.**

********************

“Want to take a walk?” Patrick says, because Patrick knows that David’s legs, and hands, have been idle for far too long, given that he’s not asleep. So they walk. Patrick’s hand scratching comforting patterns in his back as they move, serving as a gentle reminder that this time is different than those times. This time, David isn’t an 18-year-old negotiating with an 85-year-old Sultan for his sister’s freedom. This time, he isn’t trying to by-pass Federal security in order to smuggle “modest” clothes and colored contacts into a country he’s not sure he even spelled right on the shipping label. This time, he isn’t shamelessly flirting with various members of the Coast Guard in order to gain access to the coordinates of various pirate ships.

This time, David has Patrick.

And Alexis has doctors. And Ted. And parents. 

And she doesn’t need money, or clothes, or contacts, or exchange rates, or directions to an embassy, or an app for translating, or an antidote.

********************

**Alexis: Um, David.**

**David: Where are you?**

**Alexis: That’s not important, can you do some research for me? Like, quickly?**

**David: Research on what, Alexis?!**

**Alexis: It’s just that… I got bit by a weird bug. And something weird is happening to my skin. The closest doctor is really far.**

**David: Oh my god. What did the bug look like?**

**Alexis: Uh kinda small, had a milky exo-skeleton…**

********************

David can’t stay away from the wall paper and Golden Girls era chairs for too long. Because even though Alexis has doctors, and Ted, and parents (eventually)… David was there first. 

Most of the time, it was only David who was there.

He moves to turn back towards the waiting room, but Patrick stops walking. Patrick’s hand moves down his back and across his body, until their fingers are intertwined. “You are doing great, David. I’m so proud of you,” Patrick breathes. And their foreheads meet for a moment. Patrick leans in for a kiss. It’s chaste, and reassuring. It’s what all of Patrick’s kisses are… exactly what he needs in each moment their lips meet.

David breathes in, as if he is going to say something back about how - _ he’s had enough practice, or at least she’s with medical staff instead of pirates  _ \- but he doesn’t have words. Or maybe he does have words, but if the words come out, the tears will follow behind them. The look on Patrick’s face tells David that he knows all of this, of course, Patrick does. Patrick always has the right words, and rarely needs David to express his own.

By the time they make it back, Stevie has arrived with the elder Rose’s. His father is rather stoic. A gentle hand on his mother’s back. Unwavering, like Patrick’s hand on his own back. His mother? Not so stoic. The moment she sees David, she is drawn to him. “My eldest be’be’!” and encapsulates him in her arms. Like most hugs, this one lasts too long for his personal preferences. But Alexis taught him that sometimes hugs are for other people, so he remains in the embrace… until a nurse comes out.

Alexis’ family (blood and chosen) are the only ones in the waiting room, so when the nurse says “I’m looking for the family of Alexis Rose”, everyone moves towards her.

********************

**Alexis: Um, David.**

**David: Why are you whispering? I can barely hear you.**

**Alexis: Well, I just escaped from his Palace, and finally broke free from the wrist ties. It’s like midnight here and I want to make it to the Embassy without anyone else waking up.**

**David: WRIST TIES?**

**Alexis: Focus, David. I turned on My Location, can you tell me how to get to the Embassy. My friends are waiting for me there.**

**David: The word “friends” seems like an exaggeration.**

**Alexis: Ugh, like you would know, David.**

********************

The nurse informs everyone that Alexis has a ruptured spleen, therefore, they will be removing it via surgery. The room takes a collective sigh of relief. Given all the countries, injuries, negotiations, identity swaps, and kidnappings… removing Alexis’ spleen is a breath of fresh air. However, being the only one to know about all of Alexis’ “adventures”, David is mildly surprised that she still has a Spleen. He could have sworn that was an organ she left in some other country.

According to the nurse, Alexis will be out of surgery and in recovery in about an hour. His parents decide to go back to the motel. Stevie stays for a bit so Patrick can make a coffee and tea run --- apparently neither think it’s a good idea to leave David alone. They’re probably right. They usually are.

But… David hasn’t spiraled. Which… that’s new? Especially considering last week it took him over 3 hours of pacing the back office of Rose Apothecary to recover from Roland entering the store barefoot.

The closest he got to pre-Schitt’s Creek-Alexis induced level panic tonight was moments after he heard Ted say “Um, David”. And that was nearly 4 hours ago. He should definitely be in full spiral mode, complete with several horribly packaged items from the vending machine. But, he’s not.

********************

**Alexis: Um, David.**

**David: You’ve only been gone for 15 hours, how are you already calling me?**

**Alexis: Rude, David!**

**David: Are you even off the plane?**

**Alexis: I will have you know that I am at the airport. But, I’m in a bit of a situation. I need a new Passport.**

**David: What happened to your Passport?**

**Alexis: Oh, I still have it. I just need one with someone else’s name on it. And picture, probably. Apparently, I’m popular with the police in this country. But, like, not in a good way.**

************************

By the time the nurse returned to inform them Alexis was out of surgery, Stevie had left to return to the motel and get started on her day. Apparently, Alexis would still be pretty out of it. Ted went in first. David knew that Alexis would want to see Ted, and he would give them time. Eventually, he made his way to her room, Patrick’s thumb now caressing his own as they walk. When he entered the room, Alexis looked up at him. “Ew, David, you look like a ghost.” 

And it was like music to his ears. 

David squeezed Patrick’s hand, and just couldn’t help himself, “If I held up a mirror to your face, you’d literally pass out for the second time tonight.” When Alexis rolled her eyes at him, he let out a deep breathe he didn’t realize he was holding. There she was… his beautiful sister. Alive and well. 

David knew that he would gladly endure a million “Ew, David” endings if it meant that Alexis had survived another “Um, David” beginning.


End file.
